Masters of the horror game genre Capcom have once again delivered another fear-inducing gore-fest.

Resident Evil Revelations, originally released last year as a 3DS exclusive, has been revamped with HD visuals, enhanced lighting effects and other additional content.

The franchise has come under fire of late after the poor reception that Racoon City and Resident Evil 6 received from fans and critics alike, so Capcom jumped into action, took all the bad media on the chin and produced a new addition which transports you back in time to the original feelings that the Spencer Mansion provided.

Your Local Guardian: Resident Evil Revelations

Taking place in the year of 2005 (in-between the events of Resident Evil 4 and 5), familiar heroine Jill Valentine and her partner Parker Luciani have been sent to investigate the disappearance of missing operative Chris Redfield. Last known position according to Chris’s GPS is on board a cruise liner The Queen Zonobia which now, supposedly abandoned, is infested with all manner of horrors.

When first delving into the depths of the Queen Zonobia you immediately forget that this was once on a handheld device. Graphics and cutscenes have been re-rendered into HD perfection to accommodate home consoles, while lighting and sound effects have also seen a considerable upgrade which adds to the eerie, jump-out-of-your-seat effect.

Gameplay has been split into episodes, which has you flit between characters, all building to the main story.

Your Local Guardian: Resident Evil Revelations

For me I found changing between faces and episodes hindered the atmosphere and flow of the game. Once I was comfortable with one protagonist I was then flung into the arms of another. Nevertheless, the game as a whole has been created to satisfy new and old fans, which I would say Capcom have done with success.

Other notable additions are new enemies, especially the Wall Blister, a mutated monstrosity born from the T-Abyss virus that spreads through water.

Also, the Genesis Scanner provides help in pointing out additional recourses via analysing areas and enemies. Newcomers to the franchise may find this gadget particularly helpful as health and ammo are limited, but returning fans may see this as too much of a ‘hold hands’ game mechanism that many games of late have introduced, spoiling the original fear and realistic need for the required items.

Your Local Guardian: Resident Evil Revelations

Infernal mode, a new difficulty level, has been introduced and is available at the start of the game when selecting preferred perplexity, although this is generally not recommended until completion of the campaign on a lower level so all your unlockable arsenal is readily available to you. Not only will this mode provide a punishing difficulty that pushes your skills to the limits, it also remixes enemies and item placement, offering players a whole new gameplay experience.

Making another welcome return is Raid Mode. Players can battle against countless amounts of enemies in familiar in-game locations, racking up Exp points to level up characters, upgrades for weapons and also new playable faces. Fans of co-op play will find this an added bonus, and will enjoy the horde mode missions. This will also, like Infernal Mode, be available from the start but will require game completion to unlock other maps.

An online integration feature via Residentevil.net, provides tracking of your player stats and provides unlocks of extra content for interacting with the site including in-game goodies.

Your Local Guardian: Resident Evil Revelations

The game controls are, on occasions, slow and clumsy, but if I’m honest can be overlooked as it reinstates the original feel of the classics, and of course battles are far more enjoyable on a joypad than the handheld console.

Wii U users can enjoy exclusive features such as GamePad play (away from the TV) or via the pro controller. Dying messages can be left on the game-over screens for other players around the world to see as well as personal messages to Raid players with the creature voice feature.

My final thoughts, or shall we say revelations, are that, although the franchise lost a lot of fans and received endless criticism which pushed developers to listen and revert to old-fashioned ways, Resident Evil Revelations is a marvel to play.

Your Local Guardian: Resident Evil Revelations

Horror fans will love it, I myself nearly jumped out of my skin on many occasions, which is what you want from this genre. Although built from the 3DS version, there is so much more to the console revamp, creating a whole new enjoyable frightening experience. Capcom, I feel, have dragged the dying franchise back to life, and resurrected a classic.

Verdict: 8 out of 10

Out now for 3DS, PC, PS3, WiiU, Xbox 360 – Xbox version tested